Media Release                                                                                 

Postnatal Home Care to Banish

Baby Blues

An affordable home visit service to support new mothers

            Responding to the “task” assigned by Senior Minister’s Goh Chok Tong’s during the South East District Meeting in June 2006, South East Community Development Council (CDC) together with SingHealth – Singapore’s largest healthcare cluster, will launch the Postnatal Home Care Programme, in April.

2          The programme aims to support new parents as they adjust to the demands of caring for a newborn and will be piloted for patients of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) and Singapore General Hospital (SGH), both members of the SingHealth cluster.

3          About 30 midwives who include retiring and retired nurses from KKH and SGH have completed a specialised 2-week training course at KKH.  The participation of retired nurses from both hospitals in the new programme has helped to increase the number of midwives available to provide postnatal home care service to new mothers in the comfort of their homes.  Previously, a similar programme offered at KKH alone, saw only 6 nurses, which was insufficient to meet the demand for such service. 

4          During the home visits, the midwives will advice new mothers on areas such as diet and nutrition, breastfeeding and wound care (for Caesarean births).  The Postnatal Home Care Service costs $155 for three 2-hour sessions, which is lower than similar services offered in the market.  Mothers are given the flexibility to extend the number of sessions if they need a longer period of support.

5          The Postnatal Home Care Programme will also enable the experience and expertise of the retiring/retired nurses to be harnessed. SingHealth will support this by tapping on its pool of suitably qualified professionals who are interested to participate.

6          The training course for the midwives is fully funded by the South East CDC.

7          Mayor of South East District, Mr Matthias Yao said, “South East CDC is happy to link up KKH, SGH and HSU for this Postnatal Home Care Services programme.  With this programme, new mothers who need help during the first weeks after bringing baby home will be able to get support from qualified and experienced nurses at an affordable rate.  At the same time, retired nurses who wish to continue to contribute their knowledge and expertise can do so as free-lance service providers after leaving full-time employment in the hospitals.  I see win-win benefits all round.  Ultimately, I hope this programme will help to reduce the worry some women have about childbirth and handling of newborns.”

8            Professor Tan Ser Kiat, Chief Executive Officer, SingHealth, said “From our experience within the hospital setting, we know that new mothers often find the experience of mothering a new baby very challenging in the initial period after delivery. With the launch of this postnatal service, the aim is to equip new mothers and fathers with the necessary knowledge and skills on the day-to-day care of their newborn at home. We hope this will increase their confidence and enhance their experience with their bundle of joy.”